Great Minds Think Different
by Mia M. Turner
Summary: Chad is roped into babysitting Dakota for a lengthy amount of time. He knew it would be agonizing. What he didn't know, was that she would teach him more about love than one might expect from a 9 year old. Channy, Chad-centric.
1. Prologue

**A/N**: Wow, I think this is the first time I've ever used a prologue in one of my stories. But I desperately wanted to get this out, because I've been promising it for days. I'll have the next chapter up soon, so don't fret about the prologue being fairly short in length.

Sorry about the delay on Optimism. It got put on hold for a little bit, but it's not on hiatus. I'm working on this fic simultaneously.

Where the heck have I been anyway?

I had to take a summer writer's workshop for school, due to my frantic hurry to finish up as many credits as possible and get my Creative Writing degree. It was an amazing experience.

While I was there, a book agent told me he'd love to see a query letter for my book. I don't know if that means anything to you all, but to put it in perspective, that would be like if a Hollywood agent said he'd love to see you audition for Camp Rock 3. Pretty big stuff!

So as you can imagine, I put the editing of my book into overdrive and have been focusing on that for a while. Fear not though, I know my fans on here are just as important, so I will continue to write as often as possible.

The other reason for my absence was that I got into another Sonny taping last week. (The whole thing this time!) Follow me on Twitter at MiaTurner if you want any details about that.

Okay, so enough rambling, hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sonny With a Chance.

_**Prologue**_

He was laughing.

No, he was _cracking up_.

There stood Sonny Munroe. A bucket of leftover mystery meat on her head.

And Chad Dylan Cooper was _laughing_.

And it wasn't just him, either. It was in front of the whole commissary.

Tears stung her eyes. She knew the cast of Mackenzie Falls had been planning a prank on the So Random cast since that morning. But she didn't imagine that Chad, the guy who had just a week ago asked her out, who made a _billboard_ for her, no less, would be laughing about it.

He must have sensed her discomfort, for his laughter soon faded, along with his smile.

"Come on baby, it's all in good fun." He reached out to take her hand, but Sonny just yanked it back violently, still looking at him with those disbelieving eyes. Chad made a face, the awkward silence getting to him. "Oh come on, Sonny. That gunk'll wash out of your hair easy. And it's not like that's your favorite outfit. At least... I hope it's not," he said with a chuckle, lifting the corner of her vest with two fingers to imply disgust.

Sonny closed her eyes and clenched her fists as Portlyn laughed from across the room, causing the rest of the Mackenzie Falls crew to join in.

She knew he was putting on a show. She knew he was acting like a big dope for the simple fact that he was in front of his friends.

But it still destroyed her inside.

A single tear fell down Sonny's face before she turned on her heel, running out of the commissary as fast as she could.

Tawni stood up to follow, stopping by Chad on her way out.

"One day, Chad," she growled at him, "you're going to mess with the wrong person. And I hope it comes back to bite you in the butt. Hard."

Chad laughed as though he didn't care while Tawni ran after Sonny and his castmates began to reset the bucket for when Nico and Grady came in later.

Inside, he was screaming.

He'd ruined everything again. He loved Sonny so much and yet somehow, when all eyes were on him, the pressure was on, and he couldn't help doing something stupid.

He smirked again, however, when he thought of how he would fix it. It would take something epic... It always did... A MackFalls boxset, a billboard... But he'd do it. And Sonny would easily take him back.

Pssh, what did Tawni know, anyway?

'Messing with the wrong person'. What total and utter crap, what a ridiculous notion, what-

_SPLAT._

Chad cringed in fear as he turned his head to see the unlucky recipient of the second bucket of mystery meat...

Dakota Condor.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hey everyone! Not much to say here for once, except that I've kept a few elements from The Journal in here. Having said that, this is a stand-alone story, meaning it's not a sequel. The reason for that is due to Falling For the Falls. The events in the show have changed and therefor, the events in my story have to change too, as in, Chad asked Sonny out with a billboard, not through a journal ;)

That's not to say a Journal sequel will never happen. Optimism is still sort of one.

The point I'm trying to make with all that rambling is that you don't have to read any of my work to understand what's happening in this story.

Thanks for the reviews and the amazing support, everyone :) Y'all make me feel like a celebrity :D

Enjoy and please review!

...

"I don't know, Mrs. Cooper. This isn't the first time something like this has happened."

Chad dramatically rolled his eyes and slumped further down in his chair. In any other case, he would be faltering in the situation he found himself in: his grandmother in a chair to one side of him, and his director sitting behind his desk, hands folded seriously, glaring down at his number one star.

It was a predicament Sonny found herself in often with her mother and Marshall, or so he'd heard.

But with him, it was different. Though his director sat there and spewed an overly-rehearsed speech to his grandmother, Chad continued glancing at the clock, waiting for it to be over.

Because he knew it was all just an act.

He'd upset Dakota, Dakota ran off to tell her father, and her father insisted that something be done about it.

Secretly, Chad knew his director would never even think of firing his number one actor. And while he could sit here and go on about how he had to shape up, Chad knew better. He'd go back to being the favorite again tomorrow. Both in the studio and at home. There was no denying it. This was all just an elaborate play they put on to keep Mr. Condor happy.

"-Right, Chad? Chad, are you even listening?"

"Not for at least fifteen minutes," Chad answered in a bored tone.

He sat up a bit at the glare he received in return. If his director was still putting on an act... It was a darn good one.

"Chad, I'm serious this time. I know you think you're immune to being fired, but the more often you get sent here, the more Mr. Condor is going to wonder if it's worth keeping the show around."

Chad smirked, putting his feet up on the desk and rocking his chair back.

"Yea, right. And replace the number one tween drama in America? Good one."

"If they can replace Lizzie McGuire with Hannah Montana, then yes, as a matter of fact they can."

Chad continued smirking, resting his hands behind his head. His grandmother, a kindly older woman who favored Chad too much to correct his less-than-desirable behavior at the moment, only shook her head.

"Chaddy, maybe you should start taking these things more seriously. I'd hate for you to lose your dream..."

"Would both of you _relax_?" Chad insisted with another roll of his eyes. "I'm _Chad Dylan Cooper_ for crying out loud. I'm not going anywhere."

A slam on the desk made the pair jump instantly.

"That's enough, Chad," his director snapped. "I'm serious. We need to figure out a way to get you to take this seriously. I'm talking some _serious_ character-building."

"Maybe some sort of community service?"

Chad's jaw dropped when his grandmother spoke up. She, quite frankly, often let Chad get away with murder. Why she was turning against him now, he had no idea.

"Gramma, don't give him ideas!"

"I like that," the director answered, ignoring Chad. "Maybe picking up trash around the studio, or helping out in the cafeteria, or giving Josh a hand in the mail room."

Chad's face went pale. "Oh God, _please_. I'm begging you, _anything_ that doesn't have to do with trash, food, or mail."

A clearly irritated expression remained on the director's face for a moment before he spoke again.

"Alright then. There's always the daycare."

Chad raised an eyebrow. "We have a daycare?"

He sighed. "Yes. We've always had one. The older actors need a place for their kids don't they?"

Chad narrowed his eyes. "No. No way, not uh, not happening. I _despise_ children."

"Fine by me," he answered. "I'll just get you a hairnet and you can get straight to work in the commissary."

Chad's hand flew to the top of his head as though he'd just threatened to shave his hair off.

"Come on, don't be like that! I don't even have any experience with kids! I can't handle all of them at once!"

Relief slowly started to wash over Chad as the director seemed to be sincerely considering this. It all dropped to the pit of his stomach, however, when another idea apparently hit him.

"You're right. That is too many. This works perfectly, in fact."

Chad raised an eyebrow. "It does?"

"Yes. We won't make you deal with all those children at once. How about we just start you off with one?"

Chad smirked, thinking his charm has once again gotten him out of work, as he put his feet back up and tipped his chair back again. How hard could it be to keep an eye on one kid?

"Sure, I can do that."

"Great. I'm sure Dakota will be very excited to hear that."

Chad's chair fell backwards and he let out a loud "Ow!" when his head impacted with the ground. He pulled himself and the chair back up, a panicked expression on his face. "Dakota? As in, Dakota_ Condor_?"

"The one and only," his director answered smugly.

"I can't do that!" Chad protested.

"And why not? This is perfect, really. Mr. Condor is going across the country for business for the next few weeks anyway. She _was_ going home everyday to a babysitter, but imagine how thrilled she'll be to be going home with _Chad Dylan Cooper_ instead." He smirked the entire time, clearly loving what this was doing to Chad.

"But it's Summer! The little brat's not in school and I have rehearsals!"

"That, Chad, is just the sort of problem-solving that develops character."

Chad sat up straight, getting more and more frustrated by the second.

"This is crap. I'm seventeen, what do I know about kids?"

"I thought you said you could handle 'just one'."

"Yea," he spat. "That was before I knew that _one_ was _Dakota Condor_."

"Of course, you always have the option to refuse," the director continued. "I'll just go let the lunch ladies know that you're-"

"Alright, alright, I'll do it!" Chad interrupted, before sitting back and folding his arms. "But I hope you know how unfair this is. This is torture! This is how they treat war criminals! This is-"

"This is what I'm asking you to do in order to keep your _job_, Chad. I mean it. I'm depending on you... One toe out of line, and you're fired. Understood?"

Chad's expression fell. He glanced back and forth between his grandmother and the director before finally looking down at the ground much akin to the way a kicked puppy would.

"Understood."

It had only been a few minutes longer that he and his grandmother spoke, but it felt like an eternity before Chad was finally free.

He stomped down the hallway angrily, texting various friends and explaining that he had to cancel his plans for the next few weeks due to... a family illness. It sounded vague and ridiculous, not to mention complete and utter bull. But it was better than telling them the truth.

Chad was so distracted by his cell phone that he smacked face first into Sonny coming in the other direction.

Both let out a loud groan of pain and rubbed their noses before Sonny stood up straight to look at him. Chad cringed as he met her eyes. Her hair was wet, not to mention clean, so it appeared she'd gone back to her dressing room for a shower. Even still, her eyes were red and puffy, it was clear she'd been crying.

"...Hey," Chad offered lamely, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Um... See you got that gunk out of your hair."

Sonny made a face Chad couldn't read. "Yea, well... Okay," she mumbled, seemingly unsure of what to say herself. "Looks like you just came from your director's office. What happened?"

Chad groaned in annoyance, and started to rant, the attention focused back on him. "They're making me watch Dakota for the next couple of weeks. Can you freaking believe that? They said they want me to build character or something stupid like that. This is gonna be horrible."

Sonny shrugged. "It's not so bad, Chad. Kids aren't that tough to deal with, at least at her age they're not."

Chad frowned. "How would you know?"

"I volunteer at the daycare here. Often." She answered, her tone implying that she wasn't exactly enjoying the sudden shift in subject. An awkward pause followed.

"So... Is there anything you wanna say to me?" Sonny asked in a desperate attempt to drop him a hint.

"Oh, right! See you tomorrow," Chad said, leaning forward and kissing her on the cheek before strutting confidently off.

Sonny sniffed slightly, willing herself to hold back another round of tears before she too headed back to her dressing room.


End file.
